by Mark Ellis and Win Eckert
The most difficult challenge in devising an U.N.C.L.E. timeline is incorporation of licensed novels, stories, and comics into the continuity of the television series. As Mark Ellis states, "The biggest change was where to place the Entertainment comics. Inasmuch as the publisher told me they were intended to represent a fifth season (which explains why Illya had those Elvis-like sideburns in the first two issues), I decided to go with his explanation. Ditto for my own Birds of Prey Affair. I deliberately didn't date when it took place."
The Interesting Authors Affair: Many of the digest novels were written by Dennis Lynds, who also wrote a series of The Shadow paperbacks in the 1960s. Several were written by John Jakes. The Coin of El Diablo Affair, a Wonder Book, was written by original Shadow scribe Walter Gibson. The digest novel The Electronic Frankenstein Affair was written by Cthulhu Mythos contributor Frank Belknap Long! And our own Mark Ellis is the author of The Birds of Prey Affair mini-series published by Millennium Comics, an excellent contribution to the U.N.C.L.E. canon.
And now, open Channel D.......
Legend:
T# = The Man From U.N.C.L.E.TV episode
G# = The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. TV episode
( ) = alternate movie version & title
M = original movie
N# = The Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel
GN# = The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. novel
GN(B)# =
The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. novel (British series, not
published in the U.S. except for GN(B)#2 (The Birds of a
Feather Affair), which is the same as the U.S. GN#1)
HN = The Man From U.N.C.L.E. hardback novel
D# = The Man From U.N.C.L.E. digest magazine novel
GD# = The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. digest magazine novel
K# = Gold Key Comics' The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
GK# = Gold Key Comics' The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.
E# = Entertainment Comics' The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Mi = Millennium Comics' The Man From U.N.C.L.E. mini-series
Solo = Original series prospectus
1876
Professor James Moriarty begins to construct a web of criminal enterprises which eventually covers all of Europe (The Dagger Affair).
1885
Conjecture: Ward Baldwin is born in London (The Dagger Affair).
1891
Moriarty apparently dies in a plunge from the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.
1892
Alexander Waverly is born in Northampshire, England. (Click here for more info).
1894
Moriarty's second-in-command, Colonel Sebastian Moran is arrested and imprisoned.
1895
The leaders of Moriarty's various criminal divisions (satraps) throughout Europe meet for the first time at the North Umberland Hotel in London. It is probable that Moriarty's brother, the second Professor Moriarty, controlled this group, which was originally called the Circle of Life (see Smith's The Second War of the Worlds).
1898
Employing the designs and theories of Charles Babbage and later refined by Moriarty, the Circle of Life builds the prototype of the Ultimate Computer (The Dagger Affair).
1898-1914
Conjecture: The Circle of Life, which, by 1901, is called Krafthaus, begins expanding its power base, setting up satraps and shadow governments throughout the United Kingdom, Europe and America. The computer selects 26 people to compose the ruling council, each one taking a letter of the alphabet as his/her title.
1910
Death of Krafthaus' founder, the second Professor Moriarty (aka Andrew Lumley; see John Buchan's The Power-House).
1912
After graduating from university, Alexander Waverly works as a clerk in Whitehall (The Dagger Affair).
1914
World War I breaks out. Alexander Waverly enlists in the Artist's Rifles. He sees action in Brest (The Dagger Affair).
Ward Baldwin studies chemical warfare (The Dagger Affair).
1915
Waverly serves under General Sarrail at the Macedonian Front. During this period, near Salonica Waverly saves Lieutenant Ward Baldwin, whose right leg has been shattered by an enemy shell. Waverly comes out of his trench under enemy fire and drags him to safety (The Dagger Affair).
1916
Alexander Waverly's regiment is transferred to General Allenby's command in Palestine. On Oct. 30, Waverly is severely wounded and shipped home (The Dagger Affair).
1918
By the time Waverly regains his health, the war is over. He returns to Civil Service and begins his rise through the ranks of British Intelligence (The Dagger Affair).
1919
Krafthaus becomes known as the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and Subjugation of Humanity -- THRUSH (The Dagger Affair, The Final Affair).
Embittered by the way he is treated by the British government, the crippled Ward Baldwin moves to America. In New York he meets a former superior officer who is a member of THRUSH (The Dagger Affair).
1920
Baldwin is recommended for trial membership in THRUSH (The Dagger Affair).
The Stiletto Brothers ("Feet", "Pretty" and "Fingers") move in on the bootlegging racket in Chicago (The Concrete Overcoat Affair).
1921
Baldwin dons the gray uniform of a THRUSH soldier for the first time (The Dagger Affair).
1922
Madame Nemirovitch joins THRUSH. Later she will claim the entire organization was her idea (The Adriatic Express Affair).
1923
Baldwin performs his first mission as a THRUSH agent, recovering the formula for Thornite nerve gas from a Russian spy named Kosloff. During Kosloff's demonstration to a group of potential buyers, the gas escapes and kills everyone -- except for Baldwin who fashions a mask which holds together long enough for him to secure samples. THRUSH awards him immediate advancement. Later that year, he is in Cairo (The Dagger Affair, The Rainbow Affair).
1932
Alexander Waverly accepts a post in Department Z, a supersecret counterespionage arm of British Intelligence. Employing a varied group of agents, Department Z guards England's security before and during World War II (The Rainbow Affair).
Nov. 22
Napoleon Solo is born in Montréal. His father is an electrician at the Hotel Frontenac and his mother a chef and part-time actress (Solo). (Click here for more info).
Sept. 19, 1933
Illya Nickovetch Kuryakin is born in the Ukraine, U.S.S.R.
Jan. 29, 1936
Mark Slate is born in London.
1939
World War II begins. THRUSH seems to maintain a relatively low profile during the war years. What action they undertake was most probably on the side of the Allies. Certainly they wouldn't have benefited from an Axis victory. As was shown in The Goliath Affair and The Gurnius Affair, whenever THRUSH struck an alliance with Nazis, it always ended badly.
1942
Dr. Stanislaus Alexander Palfrey forms Z5, a secret underground group that owes its allegiance to the Allies during World War II.
Nov. 2, 1942
April Dancer is born in Maine (The Birds of a Feather Affair).
1945
At the end of World War II, Department Z is merged with Dr. Palfrey's Z5 group. Its organizational set-up is used as a template for the formation of the agency known as U.N.C.L.E (The Rainbow Affair).
1946
The United Network for Law and Enforcement is founded at the same time as the United Nations, funded by member countries to operate as a global security force. Alexander Waverly is recruited from Department Z (Zed) to serve as Number One, Section One (Policy and Operations) (The Dagger Affair, The Rainbow Affair).
1948
Conjecture: U.N.C.L.E. builds the Isle de Mal maximum security prison, located on an island off the coast of an unnamed South American country, most likely Brazil (The Man From Yesterday Affair).
1950
The Korean War breaks out.
1951
Napoleon Solo joins a Canadian Highland Regiment, the First Cavalry, as part of the U.N. forces. He is shortly promoted to first lieutenant. At some point however he sees naval service aboard a corvette (The Thousand Coffins Affair, Solo).
Illya Kuryakin enlists in the Russian Navy and is soon attached to intelligence duties (The Neptune Affair).
August 3, 1952
Home on leave, Napoleon Solo marries Joan. He ships out again on August 18th (The Final Affair).
1953
Illya Kuryakin receives his Ph.D in quantum mechanics (The Her Master's Voice Affair).
After returning home from Korea, Napoleon Solo marries for a second time (The Rainbow Affair).
Courtesy of U.N.C.L.E., Napoleon Solo receives a Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford and he and his new wife relocate to England (The Rainbow Affair, Solo).
1954
Napoleon Solo's second wife is killed in an automobile accident (The Rainbow Affair, Solo.)
1954-1963
Sometime during this period, Illya Kuryakin becomes the first lieutenant in the Russian Navy to burn down an igloo (The Double Affair (The Spy With My Face)).
1955
Mark Slate joins the RAF.
1956
Conjecture: Napoleon Solo completes his education and formally joins U.N.C.L.E.
1957
Conjecture: After completing the training regimen, Solo is assigned to Section II (Operations and Enforcement).
Dantez Edmunds, a high-ranking THRUSH official is arrested in Germany and sentenced to Isle de Mal (The Man From Yesterday Affair).
1959
Solo has his first encounter with G. Emery Partridge in South America (The Gazebo in the Maze Affair).
1960
Solo rescues Jens Johannes O'Flaherty from the Foccaci brothers in Todos del Santos (The Copenhagen Affair).
1962
Conjecture: Illya Kuryakin is recruited by U.N.C.L.E. and, after being detached from Russian Naval Intelligence, is assigned to Section III, Operations and Intelligence.
Kim Keldur joins THRUSH in the fall (The Dagger Affair).
1963
Conjecture: Mark Slate joins U.N.C.L.E., perhaps recommended by his older American uncle with the same name. He is eventually assigned to Section II.
Early 1964
Conjecture: April Dancer joins U.N.C.L.E. and is assigned, at first, to Section IV, Intelligence and Communications.
Aug. 1964
N#1 The Thousand Coffins Affair (Solo is using the X38 modified Luger and box communicator)
D#1 The Howling Teenagers Affair (U.N.C.L.E. agents are still using cigarette box communicators and Lugers.)
Sept. 1964
T#1 The Vulcan Affair (To Trap a Spy)
Conjecture: The Luger is replaced by the U.N.C.L.E. Special Mauser around this time.
T#2 The Iowa Scuba Affair
Oct.
T#3 The Quadripartite Affair
T#4 The Shark Affair
T#5 The Deadly Games Affair
T#6 The Green Opal Affair
Nov.
T#7 The Giuoco Piano Affair
T#9 The Project Strigas Affair
T#10 The Finny Foot Affair
Dec.
T#11 The Neptune Affair
T#12 The Dove Affair
T#13 The King of Knaves Affair
T#14 The Terbuf Affair
N#3 The Copenhagen Affair (It is Christmastime 1964.)
Jan. 1965
N#2 The Doomsday Affair
T#15 The Deadly Decoy Affair
T#16 The Fiddlesticks Affair
T#17 The Yellow Scarf Affair
Kim Keldur fakes his death in a plane crash (The Dagger Affair).
U.N.C.L.E. R&D tech Joseph King apparently dies in an explosion (The Hollow Crown Affair).
Feb.
T#18 The Mad Mad Tea Party Affair (First encounter with Dr. Egret of THRUSH.)
T#19 The Secret Scepter Affair
T#20 The Bow Wow Affair (Waverly's cousin is killed by his own dog.)
T#21 The Four Steps Affair
HN The Calcutta Affair (a Big Little Book)
March
T#22 The See Paris and Die Affair
T#23 The Brain Killer Affair (first encounter with Dr. Dabree of THRUSH.)
T#24 The Hong Kong Shilling Affair
Conjecture: Sometime in this period, the U.N.C.L.E. Special Mauser is traded in for the U.N.C.L.E. Special Walther.
T#25 The Never Never Affair (First appearance of the U.N.C.L.E. Special Walther.)
T#26 The Love Affair
April
T#27 The Gazebo in the Maze Affair
T#28 The Girls of Nazarone Affair (Dr. Egret of THRUSH returns.)
T#29 The Odd Man Affair
May
K#1 The Explosive Affair
N The Coin of El Diablo Affair (a Wonder Book)
Conjecture: Solo and Illya ruin the plans of Viktor Karmak who attempts to take over the country of Acabia. Karmak is captured by the natives and staked out to be eaten by ants (The Deadly Quest Affair).
June
N#22 The Stone Cold Dead in The Market Affair
Early July
HN The Affair of the Gentle Saboteur ("On this hot, bright sunny Thursday in July...") (a Whitman Book)
N#5 The Mad Scientist Affair ("July was dying in a blaze of sub-tropical swelter")
Mid-July
HN The Affair of the Gunrunners' Gold (It starts in mid-July.) (a Whitman Book)
T#8 The Double Affair (The Spy with My Face) (It starts at the very end of July and goes into early August.)
August
Conjecture: Solo and Illya are given the rest of August and early Sept. off after their grueling experiences in July--particularly Solo.
Sept.
T#30-31 The Alexander the Greater Affair One Spy Too Many) (First appearance of the pen communicators, though they wouldn't be completely phased in until the end of the year.)
D#2 The Beauty And the Beast Affair
Oct.
T#32 The Ultimate Computer Affair
T#33 The Foxes and Hounds Affair
D#3 The Unspeakable Affair (Agents are now using pen communicators.)
T#34 The Discoteque Affair
T#35 The Recollectors Affair
T#36 The Arabian Affair
Nov.
K#2 The Fortune Cookie Affair
At age 33, Napoleon Solo is officially named the chief enforcement officer of Section II, though it is apparent he has acted in this capacity for some time beforehand (The Dagger Affair).
T#37 The Tigers Are Coming Affair
T#38 The Deadly Toys Affair
T#39 The Cherry Blossom Affair
K#3 The Deadly Devices Affair
N#4 The Dagger Affair (Waverly meets Ward Baldwin for the first time since saving his life in 1915).
K#4 The Rip Van Solo Affair (It begins on the last day of November 1965.)
Dec.
Conjecture: An H-Bomb is lost off the south coast of Spain. Napoleon goes there several times over the next couple of months, an off-on assignment which does not officially conclude until of Feb. 1966. That would tend to explain why the agents seemed to be semi-permanently residing in Europe over the next month (The Vampire Affair).
T#40 The Virtue Affair (France)
T#41 The Children's Day Affair (Switzerland)
T#42 The Adriatic Express Affair (It is New Year's Eve. Madame Nemirovitch, one of THRUSH's old guard, is killed.)
Jan. 1966
T#43 The Yukon Affair (third encounter with G. Emery Partridge)
T#44 The Very Important Zombie Affair
T#45 The Dippy Blonde Affair
T#46 The Deadly Goddess Affair
T#47 The Birds and the Bees Affair
T#48 The Waverly Ring Affair
Early Feb.
T#49-50 The Bridge of Lions Affair (One of Our Spies is Missing)
T#51 The Foreign Legion Affair
T#52 The Moonglow Affair (This is the first appearance of U.N.C.L.E. agents April Dancer and Mark Slate. Conjecture: the older Slate in this adventure should not be confused with the much younger Mark Slate who later becomes April Dancer's partner. This Slate is obviously the younger's American uncle.)
Conjecture: Illya and Napoleon are injured in this affair and they are given a month's vacation and light duties. This is the vacation referred to in The Vampire Affair. The light duties consist of another trip to Spain investigating the misplaced H-Bomb. Apparently, it was finally located.
March
T#53 The Nowhere Affair
T#54 The King of Diamonds Affair
T#55 The Project Deephole Affair
K#5 The Ten Little U.N.C.L.E.s Affair
T#56 The Roundtable Affair
April
T#57 The Bat Cave Affair
T#58 The Minus X Affair
T#59 The Indian Affairs Affair
N#6 The Vampire Affair (It is the middle of April. The Copenhagen Affair is "over a year ago." It is also the agents' second trip to Eastern Europe in less than a month, so it's no wonder they seem so unenthusiastic about the assignment.)
GN#1/GN(B)#2 The Birds of a Feather Affair (April Dancer encounters Dr. Egret.)
May
K#6 The Three Blind Mice Affair
D#4 The World's End Affair
N#7 The Radioactive Camel Affair
GN#2 The Blazing Affair
June
D#5 The Vanishing Act Affair
N# 21 The Thinking Machine Affair (It is 1966. After The Ultimate Computer Affair.)
July
D#6 The Ghost Riders Affair
K#7 The Pixilated Puzzle Affair
M The Glass Bottom Boat (Solo is briefly involved in clearing Jennifer Nelson of suspicion during mysterious goings-on at a California research facility.)
August
D#7 The Cat and Mouse Affair
N#8 The Monster Wheel Affair
N#23 The Finger in the Sky Affair (It is mid-August 1966.)
Solo and Illya are in Rangoon, investigating reports of a "death ray" created by THRUSH (The Birds of a Feather Affair).
Early September
G#1 The Dog Gone Affair
T#60 The Her Master's Voice Affair
K#8 The Floating People Affair
D#8 The Brainwash Affair
G#2 The Prisoner of Zalamar Affair
T#61 The Sort of Do-It-Yourself Dreadful Affair
G#3 The Mother Muffin Affair (April Dancer teams with Napoleon Solo.)
T#62 The Galatea Affair (Illya Kuryakin teams with Mark Slate.)
Oct.
G#4 The Mata Hari Affair
T#63 The Super-Colossal Affair
G#5 The Montori Device Affair
D#9 The Moby Dick Affair
G#6 The Horns of the Dilemma Affair
T#64 The Monks of St. Thomas Affair
T#65 The Pop Art Affair
G#7 The Danish Blue Affair
T#66 The Thor Affair
Early Nov.
K#9 The Spirit of St. Louis Affair
D#10 The THRUSH From THRUSH Affair
T#67 The Candidate's Wife Affair
G#8 The Garden of Evil Affair
T#68 The Come With Me To the Casbah Affair
G#9 The Atlantis Affair
T#69 The Off-Broadway Affair
G#10 The Paradise Lost Affair
T#70 The Concrete Overcoat Affair, Part One (Napoleon is forcibly engaged to the niece of the Stiletto Brothers)
G#11 The Lethal Eagle Affair
Early Dec.
T#71 The Concrete Overcoat Affair, Part Two
G#12 The Romany Lie Affair
T#72 The Abominable Snowman Affair
G#13 The Little John Doe Affair
T#73 The My Friend the Gorilla Affair
T#74 The Jingle Bells Affair (It is Christmastime.)
G#14 The Jewels of Topango Affair
D#11 The Goliath Affair
GD#1 The Sheik of Araby Affair
T#75 The Take Me To Your Leader Affair
G#15 The Faustus Affair
Jan. 1967
G#16 The U.F.O. Affair
K#10 The Trojan Horse Affair
D#12 The Light Kill Affair
G#18 The Catacomb and Dogma Affair
T#76 The Suburbia Affair
G#19 The Drublegratz Affair
T#77 The Deadly Smorgasboard Affair
T#78 The Yo-Ho-Ho- And a Bottle of Rum Affair
T#79 The Napoleon's Tomb Affair
Feb.
T#80 The It's All Greek to Me Affair
GK#1 The Fatal Accidents Affair
D#13 The Deadly Dark Affair
T#81 The Hula Doll Affair
G#20 The Fountain of Youth Affair
T#82 The Pieces of Fate Affair
G#21 The Carpathian Affair
G#22 The Furnace Flats Affair
GD#2 The Velvet Voice Affair
March
K#11 The Three Story Giant Affair
T#83 The Matterhorn Affair
G#23 The Low Blue C Affair
T#84 The Hot Number Affair
G#24 The Petit Prix Affair
D#14 The Hungry World Affair
T#85 The When in Roma Affair
G#25 The Phi Beta Killer Affair
T#86 The Apple a Day Affair
G#26 The Double-O Nothing Affair
G#27 The U.N.C.L.E. Samurai Affair
April
K#12 The Dead Man's Diary Affair (This affair begins in April and lasts several weeks.)
G#28 The High and Deadly Affair
T#87-88 The Five Daughter's Affair (The Karate Killers)
G#29 The Kooky Spook Affair
May
GK#2 The Kid Commandos' Caper
GD#3 The Burning Air Affair (April Dancer and Mark Slate have been working together for about two years, presumably since shortly after The Moonglow Affair in Dec. of 1966)
T#89 The Cap and Gown Affair
D#15 The Dolls of Death Affair
D#16 The Synthetic Storm Affair
N#13 The Rainbow Affair (It is May 1967. The Dagger Affair was a couple of years ago. Nayland Smith, Fu Manchu, Simon Templar (a.k.a. The Saint), The Avengers (John Steed and Emma Peel), Miss Jane Marple, and Sherlock Holmes (a.k.a. William Escott) appear, and James Bond is mentioned, in this adventure.)
D#21 The Mind-Sweeper Affair (It is May, 1967.)
June
GD#4 The Deadly Drug Affair
D#17 The Ugly Man Affair
GK#3 The Captain Kidd Affair
N#11 The Invisibility Affair (It is springtime, 1967.)
July
N#10 The Assassination Affair
D#18 The Electronic Frankenstein Affair
K#13 The Flying Clowns Affair
N#9 The Diving Dames Affair (It starts in late July 1967.)
Aug.
N#20 The Corfu Affair
D#19 The Genghis Khan Affair
GD#5 The Mesmerizing Mist Affair
GK#4 The One-WayTourist Affair
N#12 The Mind Twisters Affair
Late Aug.
Dantez Edmunds escapes from Isle de Mal (The Man From Yesterday Affair)
Early Sept.
D#20 The Man From Yesterday Affair
Mid Sept.
T#90 The Summit Five Affair
K#14 The Brain Drain Affair
T#91 The Test Tube Killer Affair
T#92 The J for Judas Affair
Oct.
T#93-94 The Prince of Darkness Affair, Parts One & Two (The Helicopter Spies) (There is an odd scene in Part Two -- when Napoleon searches the a member of Luther Sebastin's Third Way cult, he finds a THRUSH ID card...apparently, THRUSH infiltrated the cult, but it is never made clear whether Sebastian knew it or not.)
T#95 The Master's Touch Affair
T#96 The THRUSH Roulette Affair (The THRUSH agent Barnaby Partridge may or may not be related to Solo's old enemy, G. Emery Partridge.)
Illya is injured when he jumps off a train with a girl named Margo (The Deadly Quest Affair)
T#97 The Deadly Quest Affair (Viktor Karmark returns to take revenge on Illya and Napoleon for leaving him to be tortured to death two years previously.)
GD#6 The Stolen Spaceman Affair
GK#5 The Harem-Scarem Affair
Mid Oct.-Mid Nov.
N#15 The Utopia Affair (It starts in October 1967. The Invisibility Affair is earlier in the year. Napoleon refers to Rusterman's, the New York restaurant owned and operated by Nero Wolfe.)
Nov.
K#15 The Animal Agents Affair
T#98 The Fiery Angel Affair
GD#7 The Sinister Satellite Affair (The last recorded adventure of agents April Dancer and Mark Slate)
T#99 The Survival School Affair
T#100 The Gurnius Affair
D#22 The Volcano Box Affair
Late Nov.
N#14 The Cross of Gold Affair (It is November 1967.)
Dec.
T#101 The Man from THRUSH Affair
T#102 The Maze Affair
T#103 The Deep Six Affair
D#23 The Pillars of Salt Affair
Jan. 1968
T#104 & 105 The Seven Wonders of the World Affair, Part One (How to Steal the World) (Conjecture: In this affair, THRUSH suffered extremely high losses in finance, important personnel (a high-ranking council member is murdered) and materiel. A huge installation constructed at great cost in the Himalayas is destroyed. Combined with the treachery performed by THRUSH official Mr. Webb, it is obvious THRUSH is in serious disarray.)
K#16 The Instant Disaster Affair
D#24 The Million Monsters Affair
Feb.
N#19 The Power Cube Affair (Napoleon and Illya are in England, where they meet "Charles," the head of a British Intelligence Service, perhaps the same Charles who controlled the Avengers (John Steed, Cathy Gale, and later Emma Peel).)
March
K#17 The Deadly Visions Affair
Mid April
N#16 The Splintered Sunglasses Affair
Conjecture: After the events of The Seven Wonders of the World Affair, it seems that THRUSH is laying low, at least for a time.
May
K#18 The Alien Affair
July
K#19 The Knight In Shining Armor Affair
N#17 The Hollow Crown Affair (Former U.N.C.L.E. agent and ex-THRUSH scientist Joseph King declares war on both U.N.C.L.E. and THRUSH with his Particle Accelerator Rifle. U.N.C.L.E. misses raiding THRUSH Central by mere minutes. In a desperate attempt to swell its ranks, THRUSH opens a public relations section.)
August-Dec.
Conjecture: The final assault on THRUSH begins.
K#20 The Deep Freeze Affair
E#1-2 The Number 1 with a Bullet Affair
E#3-4 The E-I-E-I-O Affair
E#5 The Wasp Affair
E#6 The Lost City of THRUSH Affair
E#7 The Wildwater Affair
E#8 The Wilder West Affair
E#9 The Canadian Lightning Affair
E#10 The Turncoat Affair
E#11 The Craters of the Moon Affair
Winter 1968
N#18 The Unfair Fare Affair
Dec.
Conjecture: By the end of 1968, one of the last of major THRUSH satraps, overseen by Justin Sepheran is broken up. Sepheran is arrested and sentenced to Isle de Mal.
U.N.C.L.E. undergoes a reorganization with new restrictions put on the agents (The Birds of Prey Affair).
April 1969
Mi 1-2 The Birds of Prey Affair (A smaller, more streamlined incarnation of THRUSH begins to organize under Drs. Egret and Dabree, and a new Ultimate Computer is activated.)
July-October
1970
N The Final Affair (Napoleon is reunited with his "late" wife Joan, who defects from THRUSH. The three mobile Ultimate Computers are destroyed, leaving THRUSH in disarray. Sadly, Mr. Waverly is killed during the final assault on THRUSH Island when his command submarine is blown to bits. Napoleon Solo remarries Joan and is appointed the head of the New York U.N.C.L.E. office. Illya Kuryakin rejoins the Russian Navy as a Vice-Admiral. Ward Baldwin survives the events of The Final Affair, and knowing THRUSH's similarity to another legendary avian, the phoenix, it is doubtful that the world has seen the last of it. Click here for more information on The Final Affair.)
June 1971
1972
Solo retires from U.N.C.L.E. for unspecified reasons. He is either separated or divorced from Joan.
Illya resigns shortly thereafter, when he is betrayed by double agent Janus and a mission goes wrong in Yugoslavia, resulting in the death of a girl. He holds Waverly responsible. He vows never to return. He is so embittered, he neither sees nor speaks to Solo for over a decade (The Fifteen Years Later Affair). (Note: It is strange that Illya holds the late Waverly responsible for this incident; the only possible explanation is that, before his death, Waverly set in motion the set of circumstances which several years later resulted in the girl's death.)
Note: That Illya's bitterness for what happened in Yugoslavia extends even to Napoleon is evidenced in The Fifteen Years Later Affair. Not only haven't the former partners spoken in nearly 15 years, Illya displays a great deal of anger over the incident and even punches Napoleon when he brings it up...shortly after saving him from some KGB agents in the Russian Tea Room.
1972-1982
Conjecture: Illya opens a boutique and fashion design firm called Vanya's. Napoleon takes the name of Harry Rule and opens a private detective agency in London, in partnership with Contessa di Continit and Paul Burchet. This group is collectively known as the Protectors (The Protectors television program).
When his Aunt Amy dies, Napoleon returns to the US and moves into her penthouse suit at the Alexandria Park Hotel and uses the money he inherited to start a computer business. He also, by his own admission, starts gambling. Apparently he begins longing for the good old days and starts carrying around his pen communicator for sentimental reasons. U.N.C.L.E. undergoes many changes and its New York offices relocate. After 15 years on Isle de Mal, Justin Sepheran is transferred to a Federal penitentiary. There he secretly begins reviving his own satrap (The Fifteen Years Later Affair).
1983
Sir John Raleigh, who bears a strong and somewhat suspicious resemblance to John Steed, takes over as the head of the New York U.N.C.L.E. headquarters.
M The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair (Sepheran escapes and takes command of his satrap in Saudi Arabia. With no references to either the Council or the Computer and taking into account Janus' claim that "THRUSH is now a nuclear power" (when in reality it had been one since at least the mid-60s), the conclusion is fairly inescapable that Sepheran did not revive THRUSH, per se, but only his particular piece of it.) James Bond gives Napoleon a helping hand in Las Vegas. Solo and Illya reunite and patch over the rift in their friendship. They manage to defeat Sepheran, but the man escapes.
Afterword: Whether Napoleon and Illya remained with U.N.C.L.E. after running down Sepheran is unknown. If so, they more than likely took administrative positions since both men were entering their 50s. What happened to both U.N.C.L.E. and THRUSH is murky, although there are some tantalizing hints.
The sinister syndicate in the X-Files certainly operates enough like THRUSH to be a likely candidate for the Council. And as for U.N.C.L.E. –– in the 1997 film, Conspiracy Theory one of the nameless good guy agents makes a cryptic remark: "In the intelligence community, we're the Uncles nobody talks about."
Inasmuch as former U.N.C.L.E. director Richard Donner directed this film, it doesn't seem that such a sly remark was a coincidence.
